Monday, September 7, 2009

Now that you’ve made the leap and found a pool cue that really suites you, it’s a good idea to know just how to take care of your pool cue. You have probably seen the professionals like Mike Massey, Jeanette Lee or Karen Corr take their pool cues from beautiful cases and put them together; you never see them set their cues down and lean them against the wall. A pool cue should never be set on the ground, against a wall or a table. Setting it down and leaning it on something might bend the end of your pool cue and that would ruin it. Set your pool cue down on a flat surface, hanging in a cue rack or preferably in a hard case to keep it straight. Banging your pool cue against a hard surface or the hard floor is also a no-no. This can misalign your cue at the connection points and make it unusable. A professional won’t ever do it and you shouldn’t either.

It’s a good idea to always keep your pool cue away from extreme temperatures as these will also cause damage. High heat may warp the clear finish of your pool cue or warp the inlays.
When you get a new pool cue, or replace the tip, make sure you bed it in. This means that you should only hit gentle shots for as long as possible in order to bed it in. Soft, not hard shots will bed the tip correctly. Ideally your cue should have a stick on tip. You pool cue may have come with a bolted or screwed on tip. Stick on tips are easier to replace when they become worn or if you just feel the need for a new tip. Remove the old tip by carefully sliding a sharp knife between the tip and the cue, then simply clean off the end of your cue with a clean cloth, or use sand paper to make sure it’s really clean. Use a small dab of super glue to gently press the new tip in and then leave it to set overnight to make sure that it’s fully bonded. Using it too soon may put it off center and that won’t help you with your shots. Remember to bed your new tip after it’s bonded with only gentle shots. Use a billiard cue tip scuffing tool to gently loosen the grain of your leather tip and allow it to hold more chalk. Doing so will help your cue connect better and give you better results at the table.

Take care of your cue and it will take care of you.

Jason Marco is an expert on the subject of Pool and operates a discount billiards store where you can get great equipment and [http://www.thepoolhustler.com/cue-care.html]Pool Cue Care Supplies.
Click here: http://www.ThePoolHustler.com

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Valentino Rossi kept up his perfect run in the FIM MotoGP World Championship by securing pole position for the Misano race.
The Fiat Yamaha rider had been fastest in every session at the circuit but looked like losing out on pole to the Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa.
But Rossi left it late to set the best qualifying time of one minute 34.338 seconds to claim pole position for his home race.
"I am very happy to get the pole position here in Misano," he said.
"We know that it's going to be a very tough race tomorrow, but we are in good shape." Rossi's sixth pole position of the season was the right answer for the reigning champion following his crash during the last round at Indianapolis.
Rossi's crash in America had allowed his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo to close the gap between the top two in the points table to 25. But Spaniard Lorenzo was only third quickest today behind Rossi and Pedrosa in qualifying.
Pedrosa's time of 1:34.560 might not have been good enough to beat Rossi but it gave the Spaniard the advantage over his compatriot Lorenzo, who completed the front row.
Another Spaniard, Toni Elias, will head the second row of the grid in a race which is vital for his future in the MotoGP class as he looks for a new team for next season.
The San Carlo Honda Gresini rider was fourth quickest in qualifying ahead of experienced American Colin Edwards on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha.
Next came American Nicky Hayden, who has had a good week after signing to stay with the Ducati Marlboro team for the 2010 season.
Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) rounded out the top 10.
Veteran Italian Capirossi escaped injury despite an off-track excursion during the qualifying session.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Usain Bolt continues his European road show at the IAAF World Athletics Final in Thessalonika.
The 23-year-old opted to contest only his favourite distance of the 200 metres last night at the last ever IAAF Golden League meeting in Brussels rather than clash with Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay in the 100m.
Powell stole the show for about an hour with a superb time of 9.90 seconds to beat Gay despite drizzling rain and chilly conditions in Belgium.

It was even colder, although a little drier, when Bolt's race got under way, but the double world record holder was undeterred as he warmed the freezing capacity crowd with another whirlwind performance.
Despite slowing down towards the end of the race, Bolt ran a dazzling time of 19.57secs - the fourth fastest in history and a time that has only been bettered by his two world records and by Michael Johnson.
Bolt makes no secret of the fact he believes he can run even faster than the amazing 100m and 200m world records of 9.58secs and 19.19secs he set in Berlin last month. And, given the red hot weather expected in Thessalonika, the 200m record which he reckons will be easier to smash rather than the 100m, could be threatened. He thrilled spectators with his entertaining antics last night and reciprocated the huge applause which rang around the stadium at every step or movement he took.
"What an audience here in Brussels! They really gave me the extra energy I needed for a fast 200m," he said.
"It had been a long and tough season, so I was a bit tired," he reasoned as to why he slowed down 20 metres from the finish line. "But the audience truly was fantastic and pushed me forward.
"The new track helped me as well, it was a smooth run. I'm very happy with my fast 19.57. I thank the fans for the extra energy they have given me."

Bolt, criticised by International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge for his laid-back attitude in Beijing last year, has now firmly established his light-hearted routine which has brought a huge rapport with audiences around the world.
l'm always very focused during the race, but before and after I'd rather have it more relaxed," he said.

"It is part of my nature to add a show element and the audience loves it. "He added: "In the future I would like to keep improving, run faster and break records. But first I'm aching for a holiday in my homeland of Jamaica." Before that pleasure, however, the world's fastest man will continue his programme in Greece and then move to the Far East.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

In the martial arts, two factors that influence the speed of a punch are the actual speed of the technique and the telegraphs, extra motions, that precede the punch. Can games help you to improve your punching speed? If so, which games and how?

Wax On, Wax Off

Do you remember in the old Karate Kid movies where the master has the student practice repetitive motions to train muscle memory? For example, Daniel has to apply wax to the car one way, and then polish it off another.

Unfortunately, the brain can't often make the connection to use those muscles in a martial-arts scenario. The muscles and the brain need "context."

It's the same with games to improve your punching speed. Sure, you might have to reach quickly to hit the rubber ball in Four Square, or you might have to reach to the side to slap a tethered ball, but these won't necessarily make you a better puncher.

Martial-Arts Games For Different Purposes

One way to make your games transfer to your punches is to isolate martial objective. In other words, practice some games to eliminate your telegraphing, and practice others to improve your punch speed.

For example coin snatching and coin switching wouldn't be very practical to help you speed your punches, if all you did was grab for a coin in someone's outstretched hand before the hand closed.

But if you use the demonstration (really an exercise) to practice eliminating telegraphing, then it's perfect.

Hot Hands by itself won't make you a faster martial artist. But if you could change the game -- slap hands held vertically in front of the body, you'd have a better game. This variation would approximate the path of a punch more accurately.

Martial-Arts Game Combinations

Later, it would be a good idea to combine the two exercises.

Maybe punch for a focus mitt. Your opponent tries to raise or drop the mitt before you can strike. He or she will pay attention to the telegraphs observed in the coin snatching exercise. And you will transfer your speed from Hot Hands to a punch at the target.

If you coordinate your game practice to your speed punching goals, you should be able to turn even the simplest game of tag into a worthwhile training activity.

Careful. No wasting time. Make sure the game is worth the effort.

Keith Pascal is the author of the book, Coin Snatching: The Reputation Builder: [http://www.coinsnatching.com]http://www.CoinSnatching.com.

Pascal is also the editor of several martial arts ezines, including: [http://punchharder.com]Practical Punching. (Free devastating punch ebook when you join.)

Pascal has taught martial arts for over 25 years. He left his job as a high school teacher in 2000, to become a full-time writer.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

The Sports Minister on Monday stuck to his stand and described the event as an "expensive entertainment".
Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella finished second at the Belgian Grand Prix, fetching the team's maiden F1 points."Indian Grand Prix is definitely on"
The team's jubilant owner Vijay Mallya questioned the Sports Ministry's stand against Formula One, saying, "How can they say that Formula One is not sport?"
"When hundreds of millions of people worldwide follow it as a sport, what makes them believe otherwise?" a miffed Mallya said.
But Gill snubbed Mallya, insisting that it was technology and not any sporting skill that determines the outcome of Formula One races.
"I congratulate them for their efforts but our view has been known for the past many months. Formula One is the most expensive entertainment even in the west," Gill said.
"The technology they use is far beyond anything here. So, our view is clear that we are focussed on promoting sports and that's how it should be. The rest, it's a free country, what they want to do here is their business," he added.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Venus digs deep for victory

Third seed Venus Williams survived a major scare as she came from a set down to beat Vera Dushevina at the 2009 US Open.

Having seen younger sister and defending champion Serena Williams cruise into the second round with a 6-4 6-1 win over fellow American Alexa Glatch earlier in the day, the fans inside Arthur Ashe Stadium were expecting an equally dominant performance from Venus against a Russian ranked 44 places below her.
It was far from convincing from the American two-time champion, though, who scraped through 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 6-3 in a match lasting two hours and 44 minutes.
Williams had required lengthy treatment on her left knee after just three games and was plagued throughout by seven foot faults during a far from confident outing.
The third seed's normally impressive service was broken six times while she served an uncharacteristic 10 double faults but she pulled out a big service game at 5-4 down in the second set to save the match.
And when Williams finally got past the winning post, converting the third match point the smile was more one of relief than celebration.
"She played so well, she moved so well and did so many things well," Williams said of Dushevina on court afterwards.
"I just had a lot of help from my (player's family) box and the fans here.
"I felt so much energy from everyone when I was serving to stay in the match in the second set. It feels good to play at home."
A decade after winning the US Open as a teenager, Serena Williams is looking to recreate the approach that brought the first of 11 grand slam titles.
"Ten years ago I definitely wasn't a favourite," Williams said. "I felt like I had nothing to lose and I like that attitude.
"When you play with that attitude then you can go a really long way. That's how I would like to approach it this year."
Venus is on course for a fourth-round meeting with former champion Kim Clijsters.
The Belgian wild card brushed aside world number 79 Viktoriya Kutuzova of Ukraine 6-1 6-1 in just under an hour.
The 26-year-old Belgian was playing in New York for the first time since winning the 2005 women's singles title, having retired from tennis in 2006 to start a family.
In just her third tournament back, and with victories over top 20 players Patty Schnyder, Marion Bartoli, Victoria Azarenka and Svetlana Kuznetsova already under her belt, Clijsters needed just 58 minutes to get past Kutuzova to set up a second-round tie with 14th seed Bartoli.
The Frenchwoman, beaten by Clijsters in Cincinnati earlier this month, got past Paraguay's Rossanna de los Rios 6-1, 6-0.
"Obviously the girl made a lot of mistakes today but I really felt like I was able to do what I had to do and work on the things that weren't going as well in Cincinnati and Toronto," Clijsters said.
"I really feel like my serve was one of the things that didn't go so well there.
"It was really good today, so that's just a nice improvement.
"Now it's just a matter of trying to keep this going."
Russia's Vera Zvonareva, seeded seven, advanced 6-0 6-4 at the expense of Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives while eighth seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus eased through to round two with a 6-1 6-1 victory over Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru.
Azarenka's potential fourth-round opponent, 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, dispatched Austrian Patricia Mayr 6-1 6-2.
Tenth seed Flavia Pennetta won her opener 6-0 6-4 against Romanian Edina Gallovits while fellow Italian, number 26 seed Francesca Schiavone also progressed, defeating Austrian qualifier Yvonne Meusburger 6-1 6-2.
Estonia's Kaia Kanepi was the first women's seed to be knocked out, the number 25 going down 6-0 2-6 6-2 to qualifier Kai-Chen Chang from Taipei and Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez joined Chang in the second round by ousting number 28 Sybille Bammer of Austria, 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7/5).